@Ernie Adamson. Welcome from Queensland Australia. During a full fettle, I clean up the burners as follows: I dismantle the burner carefully, using the heat / quench method on any seized components. I don't use excessive force on dismantling parts, I just heat quench more, or, just leave them be. For a maximum of 30 minutes, I place the burner components into a diluted warm to hot bath of citric acid (the citric acid used for cooking and can be bought in powder form from the grocery shops) I then thoroughly rinse the parts with clean water and dry them. Then using a brass wire brush, I give them a good going over. The various parts are usually quite clean now. (Although I prefer not to, I have used a steel bristle brush on stubborn crud) The final step, I give them a clean in the ultrasonic cleaner, (this is not mandatory, however it gets a lot of hard to reach crud off). A final rinse in clean water and dry. Then I get to the generator. I carefully unscrew the jet from the generator body. Attempt to dismantle the generator's guts. If I have problems with the extraction of the pricker rod and any spring etc, I do the heat / quench thing, heat it up to almost red then quickly quench it in cold water. This may have to be done a number of times. As with the burner parts, for a maximum of 30 minutes, I place all the metal generator parts into a diluted warm to hot bath of citric acid I then thoroughly rinse the parts with clean water and dry them. Then using a fine grade 00 steel wool, I give the generator's tube and, being careful not to damage the actual steel pricker wire, the pricker rod a good going over. They're usually quite clean now. The final step, I give all the metal generator components a clean in the ultrasonic cleaner. A final rinse in clean water and dry. The above is my usual method and works well for me. Other lampies may do it differently, the main thing is gently gently. Hope this helps. Cheers Pete
@Ernie Adamson I’ve not tried CLR on lamps, the CLR mix we get here in Australia seems to be quite week. Give it a go. Just a tip ...... When soaking your brass parts in citric acid, vinegar or anything corrosive, perhaps CLR, and the parts start to look pink, it’s time to remove the parts and rinse them well. The pink will come off with brass wire brushing. The pink is caused by the zinc being leached from the brass. Also the acidic baths will attack nickel if left in too long. That is why I have a time limit of 30 minutes when soaking parts in citric acid. Cheers Pete
CLR seems ok. Its acidic but does not contain hydrochloric acid, which is strong. It does not rely on acidity alone to remove rust and other oxidations. The organic acids in CLR are mild but they are excellent complexing agents for oxidations and therefore would not harm the base metal much. You'll need to test it on brass to find out its potency but they might work better on iron/steel rust compared to brass oxidation.
Hay fellow lampers. Question of the day is. Is it better to leave the patina on a lamp or clean it up ? I see some people do this and some not. Does it hurt the value?
Well, its only as valuable as you would see it. (Whatever the 'value' means). There really isn't a definite answer as to which is 'better'. Some like the patina to show its age and other features that only time and functional-use could bring about. Others strive for showroom-grade, mirror-finished shelf queens, which the lamp never was, even on the day it was produced at the factory. For most guys like us here, if it doesn't hurt the lamp, it wouldn't hurt the 'value' too. If you would eventually put a price tag on it, you'll need to foresee who would likely be the future bidders(those who know the facts or those who would be attracted merely by the shiny appearance?) Anyway, no valuations here.
Thanks MYN . I have been collecting 200-200a lanterns for a couple years. I am not trying to sell but at the same time not wanting to lose money by cleaning them up..I bought two lanterns on a site didn't realise one was a 242.. I thought it was a old green one that paint was bad. Not until I received them did I find out.
If you have two or more of the same lanterns, you could clean one up and leave the other as it is, then you get the best of both worlds.
Just got 2 in the mail today but mine are greens, wish one of the was nickel. As for the "polishing" I like to buff just the fount and leave the rest AS-IS. Some people like shinny parts and some we don't. I like character thats why I leave them like they are as long they run well.
It’s good that you please yourself and in that vain do the best fettle you can. This will provide you with the greatest satisfaction. Looking forward to seeing the pictures of your fettle. Cheers Pete
